(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical fiber composite insulator predominantly used in the formation of a detection system for fault points in the transmission network, substation and the like, and a method for producing an optical fiber composite insulator.
(2) Related Art Statement
There has hitherto been used an optical fiber composite insulator having a function for transmitting a signal from an optical sensor on the energized side to a detector on the grounding side in order to automatically detect fault points in the electric power system.
Various optical fiber composite insulators have been known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 60-158,402 discloses a technique, wherein one or two optical fibers are passed through a through-hole formed in the axis portion of an insulator body, and an organic insulating material, such as silicone rubber, epoxy resin or the like, is filled wholly or partly in the through-hole, whereby the optical fiber is sealed to the through-hole and the decrease of the surface leakage-insulating distance of the insulator is prevented, and a technique, wherein the entire porcelain insulator body is previously heated, and a melted glass is flown into the whole or local portion of the through-hole, whereby the optical fiber is sealed to the through-hole.
However, one of the drawbacks of the above described technique is as follows. There is a large difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between the organic material used as a sealing member and the porcelain used as an insulator body, and therefore the sealing of an optical fiber by an organic material has such drawbacks that the sealing material springs out from the through-hole, or the porcelain insulator body is broken by the stress caused in the interior of the insulator body, because of the thermal expansion of an organic material during the heating.
Another drawback of the above described technique is as follows. In the sealing of an optical fiber by the above described inorganic material, a large installation is required in order to heat the entire porcelain insulator body having a large length, and hence an installation cost is too expensive and further a large amount of electric power is consumed. Therefore, the sealing of an optical fiber by an inorganic material is too expensive. Moreover, when the entire insulator body containing an optical fiber extending therethrough is heated in order to melt the glass, the coating of the optical fiber is exfoliated, whereby the optical fiber is easily broken. Consequently, it is difficult to produce an optical fiber composite insulator having such a structure that an optical fiber is protruded from the end portion of a porcelain insulator body.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above described drawbacks, and to provide optical fiber composite insulators capable of being produced in a simple manner and having a high reliability and methods for producing the optical fiber composite insulator.